Diary of a Wimpy Kid takes a peek into the life of an average kid.
Artwork by Rebecca Holt
Generally speaking, I am not a fan of movie adaptations of books. I feel as though directors will take something potentially great, crumple it up and spit in the author’s face, laughing all the while about the fortune they will surely make.
That said, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is certainly an exception to this rule. The addition of the occasional sketch from the book (animated, no less!) kept the movie true to the book, and it was obvious that great effort was put into similar small details, such as the cowlicks in Greg’s (the main character) hair.
The movie follows wise-cracking Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon, Santa Buddies), who is just starting middle school. For every situation he’s presented with, he comes up with a grand scheme that seems as though it belongs in a Home Alone movie, and could potentially work, but always backfires. The backfired plans eventually build up and lead Greg to lose his best friend in a classic “lying is bad” scenario.
The plot also followed the book, but to a lesser extent. A few events were pulled from the second book, which was a minor offense, and thus easy to overlook. Greg and his best friend Rowley’s (Robert Capron, Bride Wars) falling-out was made considerably more dramatic, but hey, it’s Hollywood. Then, something utterly unacceptable happened: an entire character was added! Angie Steadman (Chloe Moretz, (500) Days of Summer) does not show up in any of the books (and believe me, I’ve read them all), yet she was a major character in the movie (she was the third person in the credits!). In fact, Angie was the cause of nearly all of Greg’s troubles. Greg was hesitant to talk to her at all, and denied her offer to join the newspaper, opting for wrestling instead (which, in the book, was a class, not a club). This led to everything going downhill quickly. Later, Greg tried out to be the cartoonist for the newspaper and lost to Rowley (by the way, Greg got the job in the book but quit when the principal re-wrote all of his comics), but if he had just joined the newspaper earlier, they would have chosen him to do the comics!
This is a valuable lesson, kids: join the newspaper or your life will be a living hell.
But I digress. The movie followed the plot of the book as well as any movie based on a novel can, not to mention the creation of a great script from a book with so little dialogue. The actors were more believable than one would normally expect from child actors, and really did look like fleshed-out versions of the stick-figure drawings in the book.
The movie does a very good job of standing on its own, although it certainly makes people want to read the books if they haven’t already. It works well for all ages because of the blend of sarcastic and goofy humor, and does a good job of keeping the audience enthralled. If you’re in the mood for a lighthearted comedy, this movie is for you.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
